CEBIT 2005: Tagan PSUs and new IcyBox models at Nanopoint

Tagan PSUs and new IcyBox models at Nanopoint

NanoPoint and MaxPoint at CeBIT 2005

NanoPoint, the UK guys responsible for Tagan power supplies and the IcyBox, amongst many other things, along with their European counterpart, MaxPoint, have a large stand in Halle 19 showing off their latest wares.

Tagan Power Supplies

I've long wondered when Tagan would flesh out their range of PSU to cover top to bottom, something that was promised way back when I first reviewed the now legendary TG480-U01. While they've released the odd new model here and there over the last while, it's only now that they've got a range of units to cover three sales tiers, hitting the high-quality but low-cost, enthusiast, and high-end enthusiast chunks of the market. I had a peek at all three to see what was what.

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The SilverPower models are their range to take on the likes of Hiper and FSP's low-cost, but still great quality and high performance, units that retail in the sub-£50 range. Outputs range to around 400W.

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At the other end of the scale, the MacroBoost units are their high output models for the user that needs to pull the majority of a really high rated output for long periods and be confident the supply will hold up. Tagan plan MacroBoost units that can do 700W sustained.

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They were also showing off a couple of models with differing sustained outputs depending on whether you're using the supplied fan or not, removing the heat generated by the power circuitry. The model pictured is a 400W sustained unit when completely fanless, output rising to 600W sustained if you remove the heat using the fan. The fan clips onto the back of the PSU outside of your chassis, so there's no issues with any clearance. Of all the units Tagan had on display, it's the one that caught my eye the most. If it's got the quality of a TG480-U01 inside, and you have the savvy to connect the fan up to a controller that'll spin it up under heavy system load, well, you can see the instant appeal.

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Lastly, they've got a modular PSU on their stand that use a connector type that'll be familiar to all. It's just about finished full development and should be out soon. NanoPoint's Wei Chiang outlined Tagan's testing procedure for new units, where even small changes to a design are stress tested for over a week with the PSU at maximum load, means that new units can take a while to appear but when they do, they've done the testing to assure you things are going to work.

I've just shown you a very small subsection of the supplies Tagan have to offer the consumer market. The basic models all have a sub-range based on output power and price, bringing Tagan's total consumer range to around two dozen discrete units when everything shown is on sale and released.

IcyBox Models

The IcyBox has been a huge hit for NanoPoint and MaxPoint in the UK and Europe, pretty much selling as many as they can make. I'm sad that I've not been able to cover any more models since I reviewed that first PATA-to-USB2.0 version with the blue detailing, in silver. There's a huge range of other IcyBox models in differing colours and with differing capabilities, depending on how you want to hook up a hard disk externally to your system. Here's a few I spotted.

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The IB-360 is an evolution of the IB-350 I reviewed, with a restyled chassis and slightly tweaked internals. Black and white were on display and I'm sure a silver version is on the way, too.

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When I asked Wei about SATA-to-SATA IcyBox models, he showed me the 350 variant that supports it. You can see the internal SATA data and power connectors that define that model. The interface on the external side is SATA too, obviously.

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The IB-851 isn't an IcyBox in the original sense. There's a unit that slots into a spare 5.25" external bay, offering external SATA power (for connecting to the SATA-to-SATA IcyBox, you think?), USB2.0 and powered FireWire400, along with front-panel audio jacks. Then there's the show-off feature, a multi-format card reader that can slide into and out of the IB-851, connecting via USB2.0 internally and externally when you take it on the move. Here's a couple of pictures to explain what I mean.

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I've been sitting on a couple of Tagan PSUs for review for ages now, which should be joined by a couple of the new models shown above in a roundup, and I'll endeavour to cover a new IcyBox or two in full reviews if possible.